News service ITV London says it claims to have uncovered a new scam targeting tenants who have been searching online for somewhere to rent in London.

They receive an email, claiming to be from a landlord they have already contacted who tells them an ideal property is still available.

The victim is told they can only view the property with an agent from Airbnb and only after paying a hefty deposit.

While it is not clear yet how the details are being harvested, ITV London said many victims claim they received the email after searching on Rightmove.

The story was run under the headline: “New scam targets renters searching for property on Rightmove.”

It claims that the scammers know exactly where the victims are looking for a place to rent, the type of property they want and their budget.

However, while ITV specifically named Rightmove in its report, the portal said there was absolutely no evidence as to how it could be implicated.

Sam Mitchell, head of lettings at Rightmove, said: “We received reports of two people being contacted by email from an unknown gmail account about a flat, which asks them to pay an upfront rental deposit via an Airbnb agent before they could view a property.

“We immediately investigated using all information provided to us and found no evidence of the security of our website being compromised.

“We take the security of our website very seriously and hire an external company to constantly run tests to detect any vulnerabilities on the website.

“We also offer the millions of home-hunters who use Rightmove every day advice about how to stay safe when renting, which includes the importance of using a secure network when searching online, making sure they have up-to-date virus protection installed and are using a letting agent.”